This research examines the delivery of maternal and infant care in the United States using a production function framework and econometric techniques. Special emphasis is given to the development of quality index using information theory. Initial results using the index suggests that nonwhite neonates have experienced a faster rate of growth in the quality of medical care during the last two decades, however there is also strong evadence that suggests more effective programs in attaining parity in health care are to be found in the area of preventative medicine and improving the underlying socio-economic and environmental conditions. An exploratory estimation of the impact of governmental programs focused on prevention indicates that these programs have been cost-effective. An important analytical instrument in the research has been observed birthweight distributions which are used to calculate expected mortality rates. A novel econometric technique has been applied to predict perinatal survival rates from newborns' birthweight and gestational age.